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Urban Heat Islands

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NEWS BRIEFS

Beaverton seventh-grader earns $25,000 Davidson Institute fellowship. Building on research from Georgia Tech and Notre Dame universities, William Yuan found a way to improve the conversion efficiency and yields of solar cells. "Current solar cells are flat and can only absorb visible light," he said. "I came up with an innovative solar cell that absorbs both visible and UV light." William designed carbon nanotubes to overcome the barriers of electron movement, doubling the light-electricity conversion efficiency. William also developed a model for solar towers and a computer program to simulate and optimize the tower parameters. His optimized design provides 500 times more light absorption than commercially-available solar cells and nine times more than the cutting-edge, three-dimensional solar cell. He is the youngest student ever to win in the science category. www.davidsongifted.org

An MIT chemistry professor has demonstrated a reaction that generates oxygen from water much as green plants do during photosynthesis -- Daniel Nocera of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has used sunlight to split water, an achievement that could have profound implications for the energy debate. Carried out with the help of a catalyst he developed, the reaction is the first and most difficult step in splitting water to make hydrogen gas. Nocera believes that efficient generation hydrogen from water will help surmount one of the main obstacles preventing solar power from becoming a dominant source of electricity: storage of the energy collected by solar panels so that it can be used at night or during cloudy days. www.technologyreview.com

Washington's HB 1086 calls for a full system of feed-in tariffs for all renewable energy technologies. The bill is modeled after Germany's highly successful Renewable Energy Sources Act and includes differentiated tariffs not only for solar energy but also for wind energy as well. Washington is among only three states and one province with any form of feed-in tariffs in North America. The existing Washington State program uses a sliding scale of payments based on the degree of domestic content in the renewable energy system. The program has resulted in the installation of about 1 MW of solar PV in the state. Several states introduced feed-in tariff legislation in 2008, and several states have introduced or will re-introduce bills this legislative session, including Minnesota, Michigan, and Indiana. Several other states are considering such legislation.

Study Reports Important Economic Benefits from Energy Tax Credits

SALEM- The Oregon Department of Energy has released a report that showed Business and Residential Energy Tax Credit (BETC and RETC) programs delivered a nearly 3-to-1 return on the state's investment, creating more than $616 million in economic investments and wages, and more than 1,700 jobs, in the last two years.

Completed by Portland-based ECONorthwest, the independent study also shows that the programs helped Oregonians save nearly $300 million in energy costs. Additional benefits from BETC and RETC include more than $22 million in net tax revenue for state and local governments and reductions in carbon dioxide of nearly 2.4 million tons. The study covered 2007 and the first ten months of 2008.

"This thorough analysis shows that the tax credits are not only encouraging renewable energy and conservation projects, but they are also creating hundreds of new jobs each year and increasing tax revenues for state and local government," said Department of Energy Director, Michael Grainey. "Oregonians are getting an excellent return on their investment in new energy and energy savings."

The combined total of BETC and RETC tax credits approved during the two-year period was $244.2 million. Oregonians received over 77,000 RETC tax credits for high efficiency appliances, heating and air conditioning systems, solar systems and hybrid cars. Around 3,800 BETC tax credits were issued for energy conservation and recycling projects, renewable energy resources and less-polluting transportation fuels.

The study examined the net impacts of the tax credits to Oregon as well as spending by business owners and residents taking advantage of these tax credits. The net economic impacts reflect the benefits over and above the cost of the tax credits to state income.

"With the current economic downturn, programs that invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy are going to play an even more critical role in helping to create jobs and lead us out of this recession," Grainey added. "With the help of the BETC, we've been able to complete many valuable energy projects, attract and construct solar renewable manufacturing facilities and build large wind facilities in Oregon, making us a leader in solar and wind development."

The Department of Energy offers tax credits to Oregon residents and businesses that invest in energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy projects. Residential tax credits are available for high-efficiency appliances, heating systems and qualifying services. Businesses can receive tax credits for 35 percent of eligible costs for conservation projects and 50 percent for renewable energy projects. The renewable energy tax credit was changed from 35 to 50 percent in 2007 by the Oregon Legislature to stimulate renewable energy development. The number of BETC applications more than doubled between 2006 and 2008 from 2,101 to 4,244.

A previous study on the tax credit programs by ECONorthwest showed that the programs created over 1,200 new jobs, created Oregon wages of $18.6 million and contributed over $140 million to Oregon's economy in 2006.

The net impacts of the BETC and RETC for 2007-8:

  • Net tax revenues for state and local government increased by $22.4 million

  • 1,706 new jobs were created
  • Carbon dioxide emissions were reduced by 2.4 million tons
  • Energy costs decreased by $297.2 million
  • Output in Oregon's economy increased by $575.7 million
  • Oregon wages increased by $41.1 million

To view the new study, please go to www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/CONS/BUS/BETC.shtml

How to Deal with Urban Heat Islands -
Even in Small Towns and Cities!

Even in the small towns of eastern Oregon, there is an obvious heat island effect. The temperature displayed on the big digital sign in downtown John Day is usually about five degrees hotter than the official high for the day, or the temperature at the fairgrounds by the river.

Hot downtowns are not inevitable, but rather the product of dark roofs, black pavement, and loss of vegetation. Dark roofs and pavements, baked by the sun, warm the air that blows over them. The resulting "urban heat island" causes discomfort, and increases energy use for air-conditioning. One sixth of the electricity consumed in the United States goes to cool buildings, at an annual power cost of $40 billion. Moreover, a 5°F heat island greatly raises the rate at which pollutants "cook" into ozone, a highly oxidizing and irritating gas that is the main ingredient of smog.

Urban heat island effect

What's the best way to cool our communities so we don't have to suffer any more than necessary on the increasing number of hot summer days each year? Fortunately, we can go a long way toward dissipating urban heat islands with simple measures. One solution is to use lighter colors for roofs and pavement. The other is to plant lots of trees, which have a two-fold benefit. First, they provide cooling shade. Second, trees, like most plants, soak up groundwater, which then "evapotranspires" from the leaves (thus cooling the leaves and, indirectly, the surrounding air). A single properly watered tree can offset the heat equivalent to that produced by one hundred 100-watt lamps, burning eight hours per day.

The planting of trees combats global warming two ways: by cutting the use of fossil fuels (for cooling) and by sequestering carbon dioxide in their wood. For these purposes, planting trees in cities and towns is far more effective than planting trees in forests. Not all trees are equally beneficial. Deciduous trees provide shade in summer, but do not block the solar radiation which could warm your house in winter.

Replacing Your Roof
Look for a material with a high solar reflectance (sometimes called albedo). The best ones are usually smooth and white. There are, for example, white roof coatings that can be applied over asphalt shingles and most other roofing substrates. Reflectance tests show that some roof coatings, including so-called ceramic coatings and elastomeric coatings, provide a solar reflectance of over 80%. Conventional white asphalt shingles, in contrast, typically reflect only about 25% of sunlight (because they are actually gray, with a rough texture and a black substrate). Premium white asphalt shingles use a whiter white granule, providing a reflectance of up to 35%.

Light-colored roofs have an added advantage over dark roofs: they tend to last longer, because cooler roofs are generally more durable. Regardless of reflectance, material also affects how well the roof sheds heat. For instance, curved tiles and wood usually allow air to circulate, helping to keep them cool.

Radiant Barriers
If you're replacing the whole roof deck, you can easily install radiant barriers at the same time. Plywood is available with radiant barrier attached, which you can use in place of standard decking, with the aluminum foil facing down into the attic. In hot climates this is a sensible, cost-effective, and easy retrofit. If you are not replacing the roof deck, you can still install a radiant barrier by stapling it to the underside of the existing sheathing (but this is more difficult, and it may be better to put in more insulation instead). If you have air conditioning ducts in your attic, the radiant barrier can help reduce air conditioning costs by cooling the attic so the ducts absorb less heat.

There are both "direct" savings and "indirect" as you cool individual buildings and the air conditioning load for all buildings drops with the cooling of the surrounding community. With white roofs, lighter-colored pavements, and more shade trees, eastern Oregon towns could be cooler than the dry hills that surround them, instead of hotter. Such measures have been taken for centuries in hot, dry climates. As air conditioning became widespread, cheap, and taken for granted, less attention was paid to passive cooling techniques. Together, the planting of trees and the lightening of roofs and pavement could lower the average summer afternoon temperature in eastern Oregon's downtowns by 5°F, cutting the need for air conditioning by 18 percent, and reducing the need for peak electrical generating capacity.

Resources:
http://hes.lbl.gov/hes/makingithappen/no_regrets/coolroofs.html

 

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